Ancient City of Myra

The ancient city of Myra, located in the center of the Demre district of Antalya, is one of the most touristy ancient cities in Turkey, and is an ancient settlement built on the plain of the same name as its own. Myra, one of the six major cities of Lycia, is referred as ‘Myrrh’ in the Lycian language. The Demre stream (Myros), which runs through the ancient city of Myra dating back to the 5th century BC, has contributed to the development of maritime trade throughout history. The ancient city of Myra, which showed incredible development since the 2nd century BC, was the metropolis of the Lycian Union at the time. In the ancient city of Myra you can see many structures, especially the portico and theatre, which Licinius LanGus of Oinoanda built with 10 thousand dinars. In addition, you will encounter city walls dating from the Roman period, wall remains from the Hellenistic period and more. In the ancient city of Myra, whose reputation is spread all over the world with its rock tombs, these tombs are gathered in two separate places, on the Acropolis of the river on the eastern slope and on the theatre. You should also see the Church of St. Nicholas in Myra, built in the 6th century on the death of St. Nicholas, and the historic wooden houses built by the Lycians. Entrance to the ancient city of Myra, whose name means ‘place of the Great Mother Goddess’, is paid, but museum card holders can make their visits free of charge. April and October, the ancient city of Myra is open to visitors from 08:00 in the morning to 19:00 in the evening. In the period between November and March the visiting hours are 08: 00-17:00.